The main characters...

2006-05-07 19:42

Johannesburg - Judge Willem van der Merwe is due to deliver his verdict on Monday in the trial of former deputy president Jacob Zuma, who stands accused of raping an HIV-positive woman, the daughter of a family friend, at his Johannesburg home in November.

Here are brief profiles of the main players in the case:

JACOB ZUMA

Once destined to lead the nation, Jacob Zuma held the post of deputy president for six years until President Thabo Mbeki fired him last year amid allegations of corruption. He is due to go on trial for corruption in July.

The 64-year-old, bespectacled politician is one of the most-popular leaders due to his strong credentials as a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle and down-to-earth leadership style that appeals to the masses.

One of the most-powerful men in the country, Zuma has denied that he raped the woman, saying that they had consensual sex in his bedroom after she made advances to him.

He testified in Zulu - despite being fluent in English - and declared that under Zulu tradition, it would be a grave affront to reject a woman who wanted to have sex.

THE ALLEGED VICTIM

A well-spoken woman with a strong personality, the alleged victim told the court how she was pressured to drop the rape charge against Zuma, whom she regarded as a father figure and called him "Umalume", Zulu for "uncle".

Two of her aunts begged her to drop the charge, asking her to consider that the families were old friends and had spent time together during the struggle against apartheid, and even asked her if she would rather marry Zuma.

The 31-year-old, HIV-positive woman, who testified that she was a lesbian, told the court about her work as an AIDS activist and emphasised that she would never have unprotected sex.

She also testified that she had been raped at least three other times during her teen years.

JUDGE WILLEM VAN DER MERWE

The judge, who sentenced Eugene de Kock, the police colonel known as "Prime Evil" and who headed the apartheid government's death squad, to two life terms and 212 years in jail in 1996 was chosen for the highly sensitive rape case.

The soft-spoken Judge Van der Merwe, 65, known for his sharp legal mind, is no stranger to high-profile cases, including his sentencing of four white policemen to four years in jail in 2001 for letting loose their dogs on illegal immigrants.

KEMP J KEMP

Zuma's defence lawyer, advocate Kemp J Kemp SC, slowly and meticulously picks his victims apart, and managed to get the alleged rape victim to acknowledge under oath that Zuma "could have thought" the sex was consensual.

Described in the media as the "villain in the Zuma soap opera", women's-rights groups have taken aim at him for his "heartless" questioning of the complainant's sexual history.

His tangled fringe which he constantly tries to sweep out of his eyes with a twitch of the head has earned him the nickname "Unkempt Kemp" in the media.

THE STATE PROSECUTOR

A petite blonde, Charin de Beer, is probably trying the biggest case of her career.

Unfazed by the fact that English is her second language and often causing her to search for words, she gave Zuma a grilling during two days of cross-examination.

She unflinchingly asked him in detail about his sexual life, extracting his controversial statement that he showered after sex with the HIV-positive complainant because he wanted to avoid getting Aids.

THE SUPPORTERS

Outside Johannesburg High Court, diehard Zuma fans taunt police, dance, sing and break out in ululation when their hero arrives in a convoy of black luxury cars with tinted windows.

They are usually wearing the signature black t-shirts proclaiming "100% Zulu boy" in support of Zuma, who was a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle and remains deputy president of the African National Congress.

On the other corner of the street, a handful of women's-rights activists hold rival protests, holding up placards that read: "Not just faces and vaginas."

THE STAR WITNESSES

Zuma's daughter, Duduzile, is an attractive woman who testified that she had never trusted the complainant and thought the woman was visiting her father either to "sponge off him" or to seduce him.

The victim's mother, who considered a compensation offer from Zuma for the charge to be dropped.

- AFP